Welcome to a Blog Devoted to Trying to Understand What the Hell People are Thinking.

Barry’s America: Where a majority of Americans are willing to give him a mulligan because he seems like a nice guy.

Today is November 7, 2012, the day after a majority of Americans thought re-electing Barry would be a good idea. It’s been a long four years. We here at Why Not Nashville? are obviously bummed. And confused. We’ve also lost all faith in this country. Except maybe Texas. Or South Dakota. We’ve argued that people are generally pretty stupid, but we’ve done so in jest (usually). Now though, we’re not saying it in jest. Re-electing Barry, based on the last four years, was stupid.

On second thought, maybe people aren’t stupid. Maybe it’s us. Maybe everyone is better off when the government is expected to give people stuff, even if it means taking it from someone else first. Maybe our enemies really will like us more if we just talk to them. Maybe equality is a value we should seek at all costs, even if doing so strips others of their rights. It seems unlikely, but who knows…

Barry said during his victory speech that “the task of perfecting our union moves forward.” This statement implies that we’ve already begun making progress in this respect. I’m not so sure that’s true.

“Forward” on the Economy?

“Forward” on Foreign Policy?

“Forward” on Disaster Response?

“Forward” on Women’s Rights?

I’m positive that no one will ever convince me that anything Barry has done constitutes moving forward to perfection, unless his definition of “perfection” is vastly different than mine. The only solace I can take from last night is knowing that, if the stuff really hits the fan, the people that voted for Barry will be affected first. See, for example, Staten Island, where they wait for food, water, and underwear, while still voting for Barry.